5 Types Of Questions To Ask In An Employee Satisfaction Survey In 2021

Publié le 8 November 2021 Par Surya Ranjan Pandita

Make sure that your employees are happy on the job with 5 types of questions to ask in an employee satisfaction survey in 2021.

Having happy, satisfied and engaged employees is key to achieving business goals. Company leaders should always make every effort to measure and improve engagement at all levels of an organization. One effective way to do this is through the proper use of employee surveys. It’s important to take the time to carefully consider the 5 types of questions to ask in an employee satisfaction survey in 2021, and make sure that they reflect the concerns of people in today’s workplace.

Remember when preparing questions that the purpose of an employee survey is to help them open up regarding the things they aren’t satisfied with, so it’s better if questions are free of business jargon and reflect the fact that you care about them.

Let’s take a look at 5 types of questions to ask in an employee satisfaction survey in 2021:

Workplace culture
Managers/supervisors
Job-related questions
Teamwork with colleagues
Work-life balance

1. Workplace Culture

Workplace culture is usually a significant part of a company that determines how individuals feel in that space. As an employee has to spend an average of 8 hours a day in that workspace, it plays an essential role in how satisfied an employee is in that company.

For example, if an employee is overburdened with work and doesn’t get time to interact with colleagues, they will not be able to form strong supportive bonds that make him feel part of the company. This can easily lead to employee disengagement. Here are the questions you can ask about workspace culture in the employee satisfaction form to get open and honest responses.

Are you happy with the company’s work culture? If not, why?

We might not know this, but the top factors that affect an employee’s engagement level are organizational communication, work environment, culture, and connection. In order to move towards an engaged work culture, you will have to ask this question and consider changing aspects of the work culture based on employee feedback.

Do you feel a connection with your colleagues?

Believe it or not, if the team gets along well, the work is stronger and better as a result. When colleagues connect, they would do things for each other at work and operate as a team.

Will you be open to any changes in the work process?

A company goes through multiple changes on its growth path, and it’s the company’s responsibility to make sure all employees are on track with the changes introduced. Moreover, an employee feels valued when their feedback makes an impact on the day-to-day work environment. Therefore, it’s good to have everyone on the same page before you introduce any changes, and even if you don’t have any changes approaching, it’s wise to know how open employees are for changes that could improve the company’s growth.

TIP: You can also create digital brochures, videos, and infographics that describe the company’s policies and work culture easily. This makes it easier for the employee to get to know the workplace.

2. Managers/Supervisors

Managers and supervisors obviously have a huge impact on the employee experience in the workplace, and they must also accept some responsibility for dissatisfaction and low levels of employee engagement.

Did you know that 40% of employees who did not rate their supervisors’ performance highly had taken part in job interviews for different roles in the past three months?

A manager is a direct link of an employee to the superiors. Effective managers should do everything they can to make sure that an employee has a positive learning experience, is happy with the growth path, and is satisfied with the work. Here are the questions you can ask about managers on employee engagement surveys.

Do you feel valued for the work you do?

When an employee feels appreciated and valued for their work, it boosts their confidence and motivates them to work better. If you want your employees to stick around for a long time, you need to appreciate what they bring to the table.

Do you think your superiors are maintaining transparency?

Employees get a sense of certainty and feel important when essential details are shared with them. When superiors discuss projects or policies with employees, it makes them feel more involved in the workplace.

Is your manager invested in your personal growth in the company?

Managers to employees can be either a helpful mentor or just a work-demanding superiors. While it’s crucial to get work done on time, it’s also essential to make employees feel that the organization is invested in their personal and professional growth.

Managers should ideally create one-on-one times for all the employees to share their career goals and have conversations that will allow for professional bonds to form.

Rather than asking descriptive questions, you can also get ratings or agreement levels from your employees, as given below.

Source

For employees to feel that they are on a strong growth path in the organization, they need to be proud of their work and have an understanding of how their tasks play an important role in the overall success of the company.

When an employee feels that they are growing personally and professionally, it gives them one less reason to look for a different job role. Here are the questions that you can ask your employees related to their core job.

Do you think your work is making an impact?

It’s crucial for employees to feel that their work is meaningful and is positively impacting the organization. If the employee feels their work isn’t significant enough, they might not take it as seriously as they should.

Suppose an employee feels their work is not making an impact. In that case, it’s the company’s responsibility to remind them how their work contributes at a larger scale and, if needed, allow them to take up increased responsibilities to have a larger impact.

Do you have enough career development opportunities in the organization?

As much as salary is substantial, employees also value how rapidly they are climbing the growth ladder. Because let’s face it, the faster an employee grows and gets promoted, the more their salary is likely to increase. Start valuing your employees’ career growth by giving them regular insights into how they perform, what more responsibilities they are ready to take, and if they are ready for a promotion.

Do you feel underutilized with the work given to you?

If an employee tries to showcase their most vital skills and still feels they aren’t considered for important work, it can be a significant factor for employee disengagement. For individuals to feel satisfied with their work, they need to know that managers recognize that they are giving their best.

When employees suggest that they are underutilized, it’s time for the organization to analyze all their employees personally and assign them work accordingly.

Are you happy with your work?

The primary aim of this survey is to understand if the employee is happy in the office or is just getting bored with the work. The best way to go is to ask them directly. Being able to understand the employees’ feelings will build trust and empathy in them, as long as managers follow up with actions based on their feedback.

When an employee starts to feel unhappy, restless and bored with the work, ask them what they think can improve their experience and take action accordingly.

4. Teamwork With Colleagues

The number of employees who feel lonely in a workplace is more than we can imagine. Loneliness leads to reduced morale, chronic unhappiness and low productivity. While on the other hand, the employees who are friends with their colleagues tend to perform better and go that extra mile required to get the work done well. To know which employee is on which side of the workplace, you can ask them these questions in the survey.

Do you feel heard by your team?

When a team works together, it can produce good work only when each team member gives their best. This happens when they feel heard and know they are making an impact. If an employee isn’t feeling heard by their peers, it’s time to organize regular sessions to get to know each other and help them develop a professional connection.

On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate your peers?

Ask your employees to rate their peers simply, and then if the rating is low, you can ask for more descriptive answers such as ‘What is going wrong with your peer experience?’, ‘Can you specify what’s the issue you are facing with your peers?’

5. Work-Life Balance

Talk to any employee, and most of them would say that they don’t get enough time to finish their work. Overburdening an employee with long working hours may lead to work getting completed by a certain deadline, but the employee would be drained, close to burnout and looking for a change in their job role.

Let’s accept that people work to earn money and eventually live a good life. What good an organization does if the employee is not getting enough time to spend their life because of work? To respond to this, here are the questions you can ask in the employee survey.

Do you think your work environment is allowing you to have a proper work-life balance?

When an employee is happy in their life, they are more likely to do well at work, and for an employee to be satisfied in their life, there needs to be an excellent work-life balance. When an employee answers that their work-life isn’t balanced, it should be a large red alert for the organization, and you need to get in touch with the employee at the earliest opportunity to see what needs to be changed.

Do you feel stressed because of your job?

This is the most common question to be asked in an employee survey. When you receive ‘yes’ as a response from the employee, try to learn the root cause of the issue, if their mental well-being is at stake, and address it at the earliest chance. This question is a must for employees who have weekly/monthly targets like sales and marketing departments.

You can also take a rating from each employee as mentioned below and analyze the overall results for a bigger picture of the level of stress experienced by the whole workplace.

Conclusion

Now that you have a better understanding of the 5 types of questions to ask in an employee engagement survey in 2021, you are now able to get the answers you need to move forward.

To get a good survey response, make sure you send this survey to your employees once every six months, and periodically send short surveys every once in a while to track progress. This will help you get regular insights and help you to realize if something is going wrong before it grows into a large problem.

Allow the employees to write descriptive answers and don’t restrict them with multiple-choice survey questions. Because the more inputs you get, the better you will be able to work with employees to achieve important goals.